Princess Elites try Holland America

[Commodore]

I've never heard of a cruise being shortened or having a deviation. I'd like to understand how this works. Can you please explain it to me?

 

Thanks!

 

I've just asked Hal res if there is 26 days cruise London to Dubai and the agent told me he would request a deviation wich I have never heard before.My question was very simple anyway I think.

[caribill]

I think what he's asking for is to disembark in Dubai after 26 days instead of continuing on for the full 48 day cruise.

 

It sounds like HAL either isn't selling the 48-day cruise in segments with one ending in Dubai nor allowing early disembarkation with a reduction in fare.

 

I've just asked Hal res if there is 26 days cruise London to Dubai and the agent told me he would request a deviation wich I have never heard before.My question was very simple anyway I think.

 

I am not sure which cruise the question is about, but I see HAL has a 48 day cruise from London (Southampton) to Capetown starting September 28th this year.

 

It is also sold as a 28 day cruise from London to Dubai.

 

It is also sold as a 83 day cruise from London and back to London.

 

For September 2015 I only see the 48 day and 83 day versions listed, but I did not do an exhaustive search.

[bdjam]

Thanks for the comparison review. I've only sailed HAL once but have considered it my "go-to" cruise line should Princess ever fail me. Good to know the experience is comparable.

[sassyredhat]

To Sassy Red Hat:

You said you haven't sailed on HAL anymore since they pulled their ships from San Diego.

HAL is alive and well in San Diego and in the fall through April sails every week. They do Mexico cruises, Panama Canal, SA, Hawaii etc.

We usually fill in with HAL cruises, last minute deals, between our Princess

cruises. The ships are the older ones but on short cruises , works fine for us.

I still prefer Princess.

 

I should have qualified that statement. :o

You are correct. I just haven't been able to do the cruises they offer, when they offer them.

We just got back from the MR on---gulp---NCL. It was a family cruise with a lot of young and first timers. We had a Penthouse for the price of an inside on HAL. We just couldn't pass it up. :)

 

Pat

[JimAOk1945]

I think what he's asking for is to disembark in Dubai after 26 days instead of continuing on for the full 48 day cruise. Sometimes, cruises are sold in segments and it's possible to book just a segment or even to disembark at a port before final disembarkation. For instance, on a British Isles cruise, it's not unusual for passengers to request disembarkation at Le Havre rather than returning to Southampton. However, when you do make this type of request, you still have to pay the full fare even if you disembark early.

 

It sounds like HAL either isn't selling the 48-day cruise in segments with one ending in Dubai nor allowing early disembarkation with a reduction in fare. I don't know of any line that will pro-rate your fare if you disembark at an earlier port. It's not HAL but all the lines. Perhaps they didn't explain it very well to the poster but that's pretty much SOP and not worth getting upset about or blaming the line for.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

[greenie082756]

Very nice review. Thank you for taking the effort and time to share. :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the review of Hal and Princess. You did a good job.

[J-D]

Quick question: Has the fact that HAL allows smoking on balconies impacted your balcony use? It is our main reason for not looking at HAL itineraries.

 

Our balcony/verandah use during a 14-day trip on HAL's Volendam was definitely curtailed because of smoke from nearby verandahs. We cruise mostly on Princess, in part because of the rule (since January 2012) against smoking on Princess' balconies. Others have different views, but for us the smoking situation on the Volendam was an issue. Otherwise, we were as happy on the Volendam as we usually are on Princess.

 

John

Edited June 18, 2014 by J-D

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

I knew exactly what you were asking because I've checked something similar in the past. My friend and I were looking at a Singapore to Southampton cruise on HAL and were hoping they would sell it in segments so we could book it to disembark in Athens or Venice rather than another 10-12 days all the way to Southampton. We were told that while we could disembark in either Athens or Venice, we'd have to pay the full cruise fare to Southampton. We were told to keep checking in that sometimes, if the entire cruise isn't selling well, they sometimes create shorter segments that could be booked. We didn't pursue it but you might keep checking every couple of months.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Our balcony/verandah use during a 14-day trip on HAL's Volendam was definitely curtailed because of smoke from nearby verandahs. We cruise mostly on Princess, in part because of the rule (since January 2012) against smoking on Princess' balconies. Others have different views, but for us the smoking situation on the Volendam was an issue. Otherwise, we were as happy on the Volendam as we usually are on Princess.

 

John

 

I predicted that would happen back in 2012 when Princess changed to non smoking. More of the smokers are slowly beginning to migrate to HAL.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I predicted that would happen back in 2012 when Princess changed to non smoking. More of the smokers are slowly beginning to migrate to HAL.

 

Yes, and as of the first of 2014, Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity) went to no smoking on the balcony too. We were lucky on our last HAL cruise that smoke curling onto our balcony wasn't an issue, but judging from the many smoking threads on HAL, it is a growing problem. Think you may be right!

Edited June 18, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[J-D]

Yes, and as of the first of 2014, Royal Caribbean (and Celebrity) went to no smoking on the balcony too. We were lucky on our last HAL cruise that smoke curling onto our balcony wasn't an issue, but judging from the many smoking threads on HAL, it is a growing problem. Think you may be right!

 

Unfortunate, as HAL has some very attractive itineraries. Admittedly, our troubles with nearby smokers on Volendam verandahs were to some extent our own fault. We had purposefully booked an oceanview rather than verandah, anticipating the smoke problem. However, we then succumbed to a last-minute low-priced upsell-to-verandah offer from HAL, with the predictable outcome... For us, if there is a "next time" on HAL, we will more vigorously resist any temptation to upgrade!

 

John

Edited June 18, 2014 by J-D

[StLouisCruisers]

Did I read there are no small refrigerators on HAL ships? What about the Prinsendam? We are Princess Elites taking our first Holland America cruise this fall and really don't know what to expect so I appreciate the comparison, OP.

[Alaskanb]

Our balcony/verandah use during a 14-day trip on HAL's Volendam was definitely curtailed because of smoke from nearby verandahs. We cruise mostly on Princess, in part because of the rule (since January 2012) against smoking on Princess' balconies. Others have different views, but for us the smoking situation on the Volendam was an issue. Otherwise, we were as happy on the Volendam as we usually are on Princess.

 

John

Thanks--that was my impression.

[Pam in CA]

Did I read there are no small refrigerators on HAL ships? What about the Prinsendam? We are Princess Elites taking our first Holland America cruise this fall and really don't know what to expect so I appreciate the comparison, OP.

Yes, there are mini-fridges on most HAL ships. Can't remember whether there are any on the Prinsendam. You might want to post on the HAL boards. They know over there.

[fishywood]

On HAL only the Noordam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam have refrigerators in every cabin. The other nine ships only have them in Deluxe Verandah cabins and Suites. So on Prinsendam if you are in an inside or oceanview you will not have a fridge. You may be able to rent one for a fee; they give priority on those to passengers who have medications that need to be kept cool, so put in your request through Special Needs if that is the case.

 

So the six newest HAL ships have fridges in every cabin--but unlike their older ships have no passenger laundry rooms. I guess it helps you choose a ship based on which is a dealbreaker to you...

Edited June 18, 2014 by fishywood

[StLouisCruisers]

On HAL only the Noordam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam have refrigerators in every cabin. The other nine ships only have them in Deluxe Verandah cabins and Suites. So on Prinsendam if you are in an inside or oceanview you will not have a fridge. You may be able to rent one for a fee; they give priority on those to passengers who have medications that need to be kept cool, so put in your request through Special Needs if that is the case.

 

So the six newest HAL ships have fridges in every cabin--but unlike their older ships have no passenger laundry rooms. I guess it helps you choose a ship based on which is a dealbreaker to you...

 

 

No laundry room would be a bigger problem for me - a 30 day cruise and we need to do laundry. :)

[StLouisCruisers]

Yes, there are mini-fridges on most HAL ships. Can't remember whether there are any on the Prinsendam. You might want to post on the HAL boards. They know over there.

 

Thanks, Pam. I need to get out of the habit of coming to the Princess boards every time. ;)

[sweetsleep]

I have been on 7 Princess cruises,5 RCI and 1 HAL- it was the Maasdam out of Montreal in 2013. What a dump of a ship.

I will not book a HAL ship ever again. They ran out of food on this trip and no such thing as coffee anywhere before 7am. No food at all after 10 pm. Food in the MDR was bad as well.

Just because they may have great itineraries it will not compensate for awful service(3+hours to eat dinner every night-missed ALL of the shows-perhaps not a bad thing),nonfunctioning air conditioning,broken safe which they could not fix which meant I had to take a huge bag with me when I was not in the cabin)

I saw duct tape holding up trim in their sorry excuse of an "atrium". That ship needs to be sunk.

[Pam in CA]

No laundry room would be a bigger problem for me - a 30 day cruise and we need to do laundry. :)

I'm pretty sure the Prinsendam has a laundry room and you can use only the supplied soap.

[windsor26]

I agree. We loved the food on our two Maasdam cruises, weren't at all impressed two years later on the Noordam and the food a year later (last November) on the Nieuw Amsterdam was the best we've ever had on a cruise (displacing the Celebrity Mercury, which had theretofore held that honor). The dining service which had been entirely unmemorable on the Maasdam and Noordam was also excellent on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Things change, though, and we might be more or less impressed the next time on the same ship.

 

Something I really enjoy about HAL buffets (along with their coffee, which is wonderful) are the made to order items. Others might complain that it takes longer to collect food in the buffet, but there is a reason for it, and the result is that the food is fresher and much tastier.

 

The damage that can be caused by a not so good chef or chief of housekeeping is tremendous We are elite in Princess and have been for many years but the worst meal I have every had in any cruise was Christmas Dinner last year on the Dawn Princess. It was practically inedible with the so called Xmas pudding pale brown with almost no fruit, stone cold with cold custard NOT Christmas fayre at all. At the next stop Dunedin I spoke with some Diamond Princess travellers and their Christmas Pud was as it should be dark rich brown hot and full of fruit. I only mention this one item but the comparison was bad on all that particular dinner.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have been on 7 Princess cruises,5 RCI and 1 HAL- it was the Maasdam out of Montreal in 2013. What a dump of a ship.

I will not book a HAL ship ever again. They ran out of food on this trip and no such thing as coffee anywhere before 7am. No food at all after 10 pm. Food in the MDR was bad as well.

Just because they may have great itineraries it will not compensate for awful service(3+hours to eat dinner every night-missed ALL of the shows-perhaps not a bad thing),nonfunctioning air conditioning,broken safe which they could not fix which meant I had to take a huge bag with me when I was not in the cabin)

I saw duct tape holding up trim in their sorry excuse of an "atrium". That ship needs to be sunk.

 

I don't blame you, thats inexcusable. :(